on behalf of our members worldwide, i'd like to welcome our speaker and those of you attending today's events. our head table includes guest of our speaker as well as working journalists who are members. and if you hear applause from our audience, we'd note members of the general public are attending so it's not necessarily evident of a lack of journalistic objectivity. i'd also like to welcome our c-span and our public radio audiences. our luncheons are features on our member produced weekly podcasts from the national press club, available on i tunes. you can also follow the action on twitter using hash tag npc lunch. after our guest speech concludes we'll have a question and answer and i'll ask as many questions as time permits. i'd like to introduce our head table guests and would like each of you to stand up briefly as i announce your name. from your right, ron bagess, washington correspondent from the kuwait agency.

ms. gongrowsk, outlook magazine, ilene sullivan, terror reporter associated press, andrea stone, senior national correspondent, huffington post aol. dr. lagay, national reporter of "usa today" and pass club president. the managing editor of "the washington post." allison fitzgerald, speaker committee chair. i'll skip our speaker for a moment and we have patty gilio, psg of communications and a speaker committee member event organizer. david silverberg, editor, homeland security today, jerry rinsky, washington bureau chief, the buffalo news and former npc president, irv chapman, bloomberg and mark romandi, director of communications, washington, d.c. harris corporation and former spokesperson for u.s. immigration and custom enforcement. i thank all of you for joining

us today. [applause] >> today i am very pleased to welcome our featured speaker, secretary of the united states department of homeland security, janet napolitano. as secretary of the department of homeland security, napolitano leads our nation's collective efforts to secure the country from both terrorism threats and natural disasters. today she will deliver her second annual state of america's homeland security address. as just a third person in history to hold this position, secretary napolitano overseas the department with an evolving and wide-ranging mission and coordinates the government's responses to an increasingly complex and interrelated array of threats. the department's concerns range from border security and immigration enforcement to disaster preparedness, response and recovery, as well as the growing field of cybersecurity.

secretary napolitano's tenure at homeland security has been notable for her efforts to address all of these threats by forging new partnerships with international allies, expanding information sharing with state and local law enforcement and building a collaborative effort to detect and disrupt threats early on. at the same time, secretary napolitano has implemented a groundbreaking departmentwide efficiency review that is aimed at reducing costs, approving efficiency, and streamlining operations in order to build a leaner, smarter agency that is better equipped to protect the nation, in an era where there is a growing focus on how the federal dollar is spent, vice president biden recently called the department of homeland security's efficiency review a model effort for other agencies. before she was nominated by president obama to lead the department of homeland security , security natural natural --

security napolitano was elected vice governor of arizona and was the first to chair the organization and was named one of the top five in the magazine. before that secretary napolitano served as district attorney for the district of arizona and was the first female attorney general of arizona. please join me in welcoming secretary janet napolitano to the national press club. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you for the warm welcome. it's great to be back at the national press club and thank all of you to coming. establishes almost nine years ago the department of homeland security is still a relatively young agency. its creation represents one of the most sizable reorganizations within the federal government since the department of war and the department of navy were combined to create the

department of defense. every day our work force protects our air, land and seaboarders and increasingly our cyberspace. they guard against tryst attacks from groups like al qaeda or homegrown extremists. they apprehend human traffickers and other criminals. they protect the president and the vice president. they help thousands of immigrants become new citizens of the united states. today the h.s.s. has over 230,000 employees working to ensure the safety and security of the american people in jobs that range from law enforcement officers and agents to disaster response coordinators, from those who make sure our waterways stay open, to those who make sure our skies remain safe. the men and women of d.h.s. are committed to their mission and on behalf of the president, i would like to thank every one of them for their service. [applause] .

>> as i've said many times, homeland security begins with hometown security. and as part of our commitment to hometown security, we've worked to get resources out of washington and into the hands of state and local officials and first responders. we've made great progress in improving our domestic capabilities to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against our people, our communities, and our critical infrastructure. we supported our nation's network of 72 fusion centers, increasing our ability to analyze and distribute threat information across the country. we've invested in training for local law enforcement and first responders of all types. in order to increase expertise and capacity at the local level. we work with a vast array of partners from local law enforcement to the private sector to community leaders across the country, all of whom are committed to doing their part to help keep america safe.

and we will continue to build on those efforts. at the same time, we have worked to protect americans from natural disasters. last year our nation saw remarkable examples of resilience grounded in this work. we saw communities across the country bounce back from a historic number of disasters. from hurricane irene, along the east coast, to fires in the southwest, from flooding along the mississippi and missouri rivers to the devastating tornadoes that hit the midwest and the south. the tornado that strk joplin, missouri, last may leveled countless houses and businesses, destroyed most of the schools and killed more people than any tornado since 1953. yet within days, the school sprint -- superintendent announced school would start on time this fall and it did. local health officials announced the hospital would be rebuilt, and it will be. and the city manager was

already drawing up plans to rebuild the city's downtown, currently underway. i can relate similar stories from alabama to connecticut, from new england to north dakota, as we have seen time and again americans are by nature a resilient people. our role is to be part of the team that fosters that resilience and strive to continue doing our jobs better and more efficiently. our experience over the past several years has made us smarter about the terrorist threats we face and how best to deal with them. we've learned that we can apply different protocols in different cases depending on the information we possess about both the individual situation and the threat environment as a whole. for instance, not every traveler or piece of cargo poses the same level of risk to our security. the key to evaluating potential risk is information, by sharing and leveraging information, we

can make informed decisions about how to best mitigate risk. and the more we know, the better we become at providing security that is seamless and efficient. we can also free up more resources to spend on those threats or individuals we are bound to encounter but may not know much about. the known unknown. think of it this way, if we have to look for a needle in a hey tack, -- in a haystack, it makes sense to use all the information we have about the pieces of hay to make the haystack smaller. this approach not only makes us safer, but it also creates efficiency within the system for travelers and businesses, good, thoughtful, sensible security by its very nature facilitates lawful travel and legitimate commerce. simply put, our homeland security and our economic security go hand in hand. and accordingly, security measures should to the greatest

extent possible be designed to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of people and goods while securing our critical infrastructure. the movement of people and goods and ideas has always driven the development of nations and provided opportunities for economic growth and prosperity. in recent years, globalization has brought more diversity to world trade. within the american economy, trade with our international partners accounts for roughly 1/4 of our d.d.p. -- of our g.d.p. our economy depends on the ability to facilitate people and goods to and from our shores. a crisis or vulnerability in any part of the world has the ability to impact the flow of goods and people thousands of miles away. passenger originating in ghana or a piece of cargo from yemen can threaten a plane bound for the united states. and massive flooding in thailand can drive up the

global price of computer hard drives just as an earthquake and tsunami in japan can grind assembly lines at american auto plants to a halt. we must, therefore, continue to look both within and beyond our physical borders and develop strategies from threats that can originate both here at home or on the other side of the world. now, as the federal department charged with regulating the flow of people and goods in and out of the country, d.h.s. has been transforming how we approach the relationship between security and trade. this transition will be a key ongoing focus for the department in 2012. as we continue our drive toward a risk-based information-driven approach to security where what we know about a piece of cargo or a passenger allows us to better assess its risks and identify threats at the earliest possible moment. we must recognize that security

and efficiency are not mutually exclusive. we can enhance security while decreasing wait times, expediting travel, and keeping costs down. and we know we can because we're already doing so. this year alone, d.h.s. will help facilitate about $2 trillion in legitimate trade. while enforcing u.s. trade laws that protect the economy, the health, and the safety of the american people. so how are we going to go about strengthening security even more while expediting trade and travel? well, one key way is through trusted traveler and trusted shipper programs. these programs rely on mutually agreed upon information sharing which allows us to know more about a traveler or piece of cargo before it begins its journey. and at the same time these programs provide an economic benefit for the individuals, countries, and companies involved. by expediting the movement of

the goods and people that are critical to their business. for example, global entry is a program that allows us to expedite entry into the united states for preapproved low-risk air travelers. more than one million passengers have already joined global entry and president obama recently announced we will be expanding the program in 2012 as part of the administration's efforts to foster travel and tourism. we also have been expanding t.s.a. precheck, a domestic trusted traveler initiative that enhances security by allowing us to focus on passengers we know less about and those we consider high risk while providing expedited screening for travelers who volunteer information about themselves prior to flight. precheck is currently available to u.s. citizens who are already members of existing c.b.p. trusted traveler programs as well as eligible airline frequent flyers.

precheck passengers may be referred to a lane where they will undergo expedited screening which can include no longer having to remove shoes, laptops, jackets or belts. efforts like t.s.a. precheck represent an important evolution in the way we handle airline security as we shift away from the one size fits all model of passenger screening to one that is risk-based. and what's critical is that both of these initiatives strengthen security while expediting travel for those travelers we know the most about. we're applying these same concepts in the area of cargo security. as part of a broader cargo security initiative, we now allow participating shippers to screen air cargo following the strict standards to support the 100% screening requirements of the 911 act for cargo transported on passenger aircrafts. we're reviewing our foreign partner's cargo screening to determine whether their

programs provide a level of security commensurate with the united states air cargo security standards. those who meet the requirements are officially recognized to conduct screening for cargo traveling to the u.s. we're also working with more than 80 countries to prevent the illegal theft or diversion of precursor chemicals that can be used to make improvised explosive devices or i.e.d.'s. through these efforts we've already seized more than 62 metric tons of these deadly materials. and we're partnering directly with the international trade community to provide expedited cargo processing for companies that undergo extensive vetting and meet strict criteria. just last week i announced administration wide effort on global supply chain security is that builds off of these programs. this new strategy represents a whole of nation approach to global supply chain system with two explicit goals, promoting the efficient and security movement of goods and fostering

resilient supply chain systems. our efforts will be guided by three principles. we'll find smarter and more cost-effective ways to address security threats and maximize resources and expertise from across the united states. we will foster an all-nation approach to leverage the critical roles played by state, local and tribal territory governments and private sector partners in strengthening supply chains and we will enhance our coordination with the international community and international stakeholders who also have key supply chain roles and responsibilities. now, like the aviation system, our physical borders, both land and sea, serve not only as a crucial line of defense when it comes to our security, but also as a critical intersection of international commerce. the obama administration has undertaken the most serious and sustained actions to secure our borders in our nation's history.

and it's clear from every measure we currently have that this approach is working. on the southwest border, illegal immigration attempts as measured by border patrol apprehensions have decreased 53% in the past three years. and are less than 20% of what they were at their peak. while seizures of illegal drugs, currency, and weapons are all up. we've increased the number of border patrol agents to more than 21,000, more than doubled the size of the border patrol in 2004. and as we've worked to combat illegal crossing, violent crime and u.s. border communities has remained flat or fallen in the past decked. we're using technology in new ways, including license plate readers to detect suspicious vehicles, aerial surveillance and cap as and sensors along the land borders. these kind of technologies combined with increased manpower and infrastructure give our personnel better

awareness of the border environment so they can more quickly act to resolve threats or illegal activity. we've invested heavily in infrastructure improvements at our ports of industry including $400 million in recovery act funds to modern size older facilities along our northern border to meet post-9/11 security standards. we've also expanded our busiest ports along the southwest border, ports like san hosedro and nogales. we stepped up coordination with canada with beyond the border plan to speed inspection of goods like car parts so factories on both sides of the border can operate more quickly. we've continued to work with our mexican counterparts to protect shared critical infrastructure and expand trusted traveler and shipper programs as part of a declaration signed jointly by president obama and president calderon. these efforts are not only speeding legitimate trade, they're also stopping illegal

goods from entering the country, goods that can undermine domestic businesses that play by the rules. in fiscal year 2011, we interdicted goods representing more than $1.1 billion in retail value. further, the value of consumer safety seizures including things like pharmaceuticals totaled more than $60 million, representing a 41% increase over fiscal year 2010. now, when it comes to the movement of people, our efforts are not just focused on promoting tourists and weiss travel -- business travel to the united states, we're also enforcing our immigration laws in smart, effective ways designed to protect communities, while to the greatest extent possible under current law, fostering legitimate employment and foreign investment. the bottom line is that our nation's current immigration laws are sorely outdated and in need of revision. president obama viewed such a revision as both a matter of

fairness and as an economic necessity. and while we continue to urge congress to take up immigration reform, we have acted on clear and commonsense priorities when it comes to immigration enforcement under the existing laws. we've reduced bureaucratic inefficiencies in visa programs, streamlining the path for entrepreneurs who wish to bring their business to america. we've improved and automated the process for identifying individuals applying for or in possession of a visa who may pose a national security or public safety risk. we're ending practices that break up american families by shortening how long the spouses and children of american citizens must wait abroad for a u.s. visa that we know they're going to obtain. for the first time, we've actually prioritized our enforcement resources so that we can concentrate first on those individuals who are in our country illegally and who are also committing other crimes. we're also focusing on the

removal of repeat immigration violators and recent border crossers before they enter our country's interior. and this year we begin reviewing the hundreds of thousands of immigration cases languishing on the immigration court docket to speed the removal of criminal aliens while administratively closing the cases of those with no criminal record who pose no risk. such as students who were brought here through no fault of their own or members of the military. we've also focused on employers who hire illegal labor and by doing so unfairly compete with employers who play by the rules. now, none of these actions substitute for statutory reform but we can, we have and we will seek to enforce the law in a way that best meets our needs and our ideals. now, in today's high-tech security and commercial environments, we must also focus beyond just the physical movement of goods and people across our borders. that's why in the area of cybersecurity, we're moving to

create a secure environment for the flow of cybercommerce and helping support a secure marketplace for the exchange of goods and ideas. we're deploying the latest tools across the federal government to protect critical goods while sharing security information with public and private sector partners to help them protect their own operations. beyond protecting the computer networks of the civilian side of our government, we're leading the effort to protect our nation's critical infrastructure structure, the systems and networks that support the financial services industry, the electric power industry and the telecommunications industry, to name just a few. we now have dedicated representatives from these and other key economic sectors working at d.h.s. alongside our own cybersecurity experts to prevent, identify, and address cyberincidents. we continue to work with the private sector, other government, national security, and law enforcement agencies,

and the international community to mitigate the risks and reduce the potential for malicious act to be successful. last year our computer emergency readiness team responded to more than 100,000 incident reports and released more than 5,000 actionable cybersecurity alerts to our federal, state, and private sector partners. and we are working with our international law enforcement partners to share expertise and resources to combat electronic crimes such as identity and intellectual property theft, network intrusions and a range of financial crime. and these efforts show results. in the last year alone, the u.s. secret service prevented 5.6 billion dollars in potential losses to financial crime investigations and $1.5 billion through cybercrime investigations. and at the same time, i.c.e. interrupted or dismantled more than 140 transnational criminal

negotiations capable of laundering billions in illegal proceeds and exporting 50,000 pieces of controlled technology. no one understands the need for security more than the business community. one break in the supply chain can put a entire company at risk. in today's world, it's not just big business that feels the impact of the global security network. small businesses are inextricably linked to the larger commercial world and in many cases are serving as the engines of security innovation. we want to encourage innovation. in case will -- fiscal year 2011 d.h.s. awarded nearly 30% of our total contracting dollars to small business, resulting in $4.2 billion in prime small business contracts. our investment in businesses of all sizes is paying off in the development of new security tools. for example, our new commercial first approach leverages the innovations and development

done by industry to support the department's nuclear and radiological detection equipment needs. the initiative facilitates interaction among industry, stakeholders, and researchers to develop technology that is better and more cost i've effective. business us are central to rebuilding a community after disaster or other tragedies strike, and why, led by fema, we've changed how we work with businesses, before, during and of a catastrophic event. we have seen that the more we do to make sure we're prepared for a disaster, the faster we will rebound, and that has immense economic consequences. last year, we supported 99 major disaster declarations. these included the response to hurricane irene that impacted 14 states, record fires in the southwest, flooding across the central united states, and devastating tornadoes that hit the midwest and the south. in all of these instances we've

shown that we are dedicated to helping communities rebuild after a disaster strikes. and one of the many new ways we do this is by awarding contracts to local small businesses and adhering to this principle, hire local, buy local, and help communities get back on their feet. last year, i had the honor of attending the opening of the new 9/11 memorial in new york city. that memorial, like the one at the pentagon and the fields outside shanksville stand as a reminder of those we lost and will never forget. but these memorials must serve another purpose. they must stand as reminders of our need for vigilance in a dangerous world and as a symbol of our resilience as a nation. a nation that has proven time and again that we will always come back stronger from tragedy and adversity. we've come a long way over the past year. and over the past 10 years since 9/11. we've learned a great deal

about how to better secure our country, but we remain aware of how a successful terrorist attack or natural disaster can afflict damage far beyond its human toll. threats against our nation by terror or otherwise consist to evolve and d.h.s. must continue to evolve as well. while we resolve to remain ever vigilant against another 9/11 style attack, we also commit ourselves to deploying security measures that promote the movement of goods and people and that build on our national resilience. today we're bringing new strategies to this effort, not only to confront an ever-evolving set of threats, but to protect and support the economic engine that makes our nation great. we will do even more in 2012 and beyond. so i want to thank you for your interest today and for your continued engagement. thank you very much.

. [applause] >> thank you. what do you consider to be the most pressing threat america faces today? >> you know, i don't rank them in that way. it's not like top 10 basketball teams. i think we have to constantly be vigilant against a range of threats. you know, terrorism didn't grin with bin laden, it's not over with his death. there are other al qaeda, al qaeda-related groups, and we have the growth of homegrown extremists, so working on countering violent extremism is important for us. the whole range of intrusions that can interfere with the movement of people and goods, as i've just explained, or in cyberspace -- i think cyberspace is an increasingly busy area for all of us. and then you never know what mother nature is going to do.

and that's why we have to work across the country now that national capacity building, you know, what that -- that phrase, what that means is when you have a lot of disasters happening simultaneously like we did this year, communities already have the ability to handle the response, and we can come in as part of their team. they're not just waiting for us to show up. >> like every federal agency, you undoubtedly will be asked to do more with less and given the austere budget environment, does your department have all the tools and resources it needs to keep america safe? >> well, look, -- [laughter] >> you know, anyone can come up here and say i can always use more. and yeah, that's true. but i think the key thing is, do we have and will we have what we need to maximize our ability to protect the american people? and i think by finding new

efficiencies, by leveraging resources, by realizing that we're not the only ones involved in security, there are a lot of other partners out there, they bring their own resources to the table, consolidating and coordinating those better, i think we can do the job we need to do for the american people, and with the american people. . >> on border patrol, in canada, the beyond the border agreement includes a pilot project for clearance and cargo on the canadian side. when will this product be -- project be awarded and will there be a major border crossings like the peace brridge considered? >> this is doing the whole customs process abroad. we have that in several locations around the world. it is an important tool that we can use. it is expensive. we cannot do it everywhere but

in certain places, weekend. -- we can. we think we will be adding some more ore-clearance locations in 2012 rate in canada, item we're moving toward that pre - clarence. the issue with the peace bridge is associated with that that is something we're working on very hard with the authorities there. >> we seem to continually hear that the next great threat will come in the form of a pandemic or other health-related biological crises. how would da just cooperate with -- dhs would cooperate with other branches of the government is of such an event? >> i want everybody to make sure you wash your hands carefully. [laughter] don't forget. one of the first disasters i managed to the h1h1 pandemic very we didn't know what kind of flu thqt would be. and the course of that court nation, we learned a lot of --

the course of that coordination, we learned a lot of things. one of the things we learned is that a lot of the kind of security emergency response community across the country is not necessarily linked copper as tightly as it needs to be with the public health community. we continue to work withhhs and other partners to bring that more tightly together. we work as well and diagnostics. that is a key area for us. wey people don't know but actually have a science and technology directorate within the department. we run some very important laboratories including the laboratory and plum island which looks at large animal diseases and vaccines for those. we're working with other laboratories across the country.

the international aspect of this is key. if there is to be pandemic, it will be by nature international. working with our partners across the globe, we also of a unified -- have a unified effort there. suffice it to say that less and learn h from1n1, not only have we learned from them but we have now deployed than an exercise them across the federal government and across the administration so that we will even better able to respond should there be another pandemic. >> sometimes more than one federal agency response to any event or catastrophe and collectible cassettes of in -- collect duplicate sets of information.

what is being done to better coordinate their response in each and st. anne agencies and local responders? >> i'm assuming this is from an criminaltheme? normally, the first responders to most crime is going to be your local police. they are the front line on most things criminal. almost across the federal government, we work closely with the justice department and the fbi, particularly on the joint terrorism task forces. that is the criminal investigative side on terrorism. next to the fbi, we have the highest number of agents assigned to those. there are times when it seems like there are duplications or redundancies but i think through greater use of task forces and things like jttf, those things are getting worked out on the ground and in the field. >> despite 9/11 and many natural disasters, as americans and the business they work for ignore basic prepared us recommendations. why is that and how you encourage preparing this plan?

>> i would be interested in some of the media strategies because it is constant messaging. around the beginning of hurricane season, we really are pushing that be prepared and have your badge ready and your plan and where you will unite the family of your divided, that sort of thing. and yet, we still find from surveys and a bill like that the majority of people really don't have those things together. one of the ways we are dealing with that is to do more education in the schools themselves, educating young people because not only will they hopefully urged their parents to be prepared also as they grow into adults themselves, hopefully, of a -- they will have inculcated

those values pre we're always looking for ways to press in that issue a new ways to develop -- to deliver the message. one of the things we have done over fema is a much greater use of social media. that is because that is the way a lot of people receive their information now. when need to get information packaged in the form it comes to people the way they receive it. we will continue to press the message and will continue to work in our schools and we will continue to use social media and we will continue to convey the message that people would take that time to really prepare and think through, then there were -- when there is a major disaster, we can focus our efforts and equipment on those who are totally disabled from helping themselves. >> to the public the most visible face ofdhs "is the if you see something"is something campaign. our people acting on this?

>> this is our campaign that really reflects the shared response of security and how everybody can the situation we aware if they see in some -- seen something safe, paired with that, with a training program for law enforcement around the country call sarr which is a defined protocol for how you get information and analyze it and then share it to us so that we can share it back to the country. that is the way to directly involve low law-enforcement and our efforts. see something, say something, started with metropolitan transit authority in new york and has spread across the country. you see on buses and you hear on the metro. you see it on amtrak and major sporting events. all of the that have adopted this program public, this has developed a momentum of its own.

it is a very straightforward way for people to just be aware, just be aware. we have had some very significant cases where, because someone saw something and said something, we have been able to prevent death or serious injury to others. >> there is an increased fear in muslim communities after news of alleged spies in mosques defined as a problem? -- do you find that as a problem. >> i come to this from a prosecution point of view where i have been a u.s. the tennessee -- have been a u.s. attorney and an attorney general. my view is that profiling is not effective law enforcement. it is not necessarily intelligence-driven. it diverts resources away from things that are more effective. within our shop, within the

department of justice and other elements of the federal government that are involved in law enforcement, keep sending the message that profiling is not thing to do it and provide the training and supervision that helps guide us in our efforts to those who would really pose the greatest risk. we have matters on which we spend a lot of time and we have tried to think through these things very we have our own civil rights and civil liberties organization. our own work with other faith based leaders has helped think this through and how to maintain safety and security without resorting to profiling. >> you said the everyday travelers is not pose the same threat. how do you determine that? >> i will not tell you all of it --

[laughter] but for example, we have information that leads us to believe that certain travel routes are problematic. we can see that for my purpose travel history. we add information that we are looking not only for all people from a particular country but certain males who may have traveled here and are the ages of 20-50 and we could be looking for that. it is really taking the intelligence and information derived from around the world, analyzing it and putting into a format that gives us something to look for that. as i said in my talk, it really defines the size of that haystack. >> do you think terrace will try -- terrorists will try to be

t5 used thesa pre-screen -- to abuse the pre-screen function? >>tsa gets a lot of pressure. threaty's revolving environment, aviation remains a target. aviation's sector is so critical to the global economy not to mention the potential loss of life should one of these potential attacks succeed. as a move to a wrist-based -- a risk-based strategy where we don't treat every passenger light, it is important to carefully and we pilot things. we just finished the pilot for pre-check and now we can move across the rest of the country. i think we have in seven airports now. we will be adding up the others over the course of the calendar year but we go slowly so that we make sure that security

values are not lost in the rush to have something that most travelers will find very easy to use. we have got to get the balance right. >> what information-gathering technologies for cards of the -- for cargo does the federal government find the most dependable? it depends on what kind of cargo we're talking about. >> i think over the course of the next year, as a keep working on a global supply chain strategy internationally, i think we will do better. we should be able to reach common standards about cargo and information-related to cargo and how manifest are prepared and how early in the shipping process they are provided. that information sharing more

than any other device, that information sharing will probably be the most useful thing we have in the near term. at some point, there may be technology developed that would allow us to wave a magic wand and know what is in cargo and whether it is dangerous or not. in the absence of that, we do some of those things. that information-sharing part, again as i said earlier, that part made more robust and made inclusive gives us the best way to mitigate risk. . >> do you think u.s. foreign policy can help you in having to have all the countries cooperate together? >> one of the banks that is -- the things that is surprising when i took over a at adhs - i'm only the third secretary and i have gotten to build on what tom ridge and michael chertoff did.

it is reallyyeoman's work. one thing that has evolved and mature over the past few years is the international regional department. we have people now in 75 + countries. i think we are the third most large international but britain -- largest international footprint than and other government agency. what i spend my time on is the question is about which is forming these international partnerships of -- that would allow us to do things like screening as far away from our physical borders as possible. that maximizes our ability to prevent someone from getting into the country or someone getting into the country that we don't want. over the course of the next year, yes, we will be work very rigid be working very s asce -- working with partners. the whole pre-clearance issue i

described for you is an international partnership. it is all designed because the nations of the world have an interest in making sure that people remain safe and the global economy can truly move safely and securely. taking advantage of that joint interest is kind of the sweet spot. >> can you elaborate more on how we guard are thousands of miles of coastline and borders, especially those that are not border -- are not secure? >> the southwestern border is a combination of manpower, record manpower, technology, more and more off-the-shelf technology is that our borders troll -- or patrol agents used for infrastructure. one of our rail infrastructure challenges it is improving the

physical land ports themselves. we can shut down 11 between airports but the ports themselves which is where you get livestock go all the rest of it. that is for major improvements are required. these outposts are designed to help us control the border. the northern border is a different strategy. it is bigger and more densely populated and the weather is different. we have to use different strategies out there. it is the same kind of thing -- perhaps greater use of aerial maps in terms of the pacific and atlantic, i also mean down on the caribbean and the like, the coast guard is our lead.

they have existed since the 18th century. they are charged with protecting our nation's coastline and protecting our waterways. they work a lot with state and local officials who are actually in communities that have large ports but there are charged with making sure that our maritime environment remains safe. >> can you elaborate perhaps and pat yourself on the back and talk about how the u.s. customs fees. -- seized 62 tons of bomb making materials? >> ok, [laughter] i shouldn't do that. because it is not my work, is the work of another site. i get to describe it but is the work of many women in this department. it is ice which is the lead on the interception on precursors. this is a very robust and

specific information-sharing agreement that will allow us to monitor and track the shipments of the kind of chemicals used to manufacture of ied's and make sure is that commerce moves and some of these are chemicals used in agriculture, for example, they have legitimate uses and illegitimate uses. being able to separate those in making sure we should -- the recipient is the right recipient, getting the right amount as properly prescribed is what this information- sharing agreement works. the way these agreements can or better is our ability to connect data is so much more robust than it was 10 years ago or indeed even three years ago. our ability to unite different types of data bases so we can make the kind of queries necessary to say that we need to know whether this particular program is moving and where. >> do you believe the u.s. shares responsibility with mexico?

in the war against crime, given america is the number one provider of guns to cartels? >> i think the issue with mexico is they are close neighbors. they are number two or three trading partner. there are thousands of jobs in the united states that relate to our travel and commerce with mexico. they have been engaged in a valiant battle against cartels. that is particularly in northern mexico. manufactured narcotics package shipped into the united states and sun canada. we want to partner with them and share with them in any way we can our efforts. there's a joint interest in making sure that the battle they are fighting is successful. we're going to continue to do that. obviously, if the question is

referring to things like that some curious, i the government had knowledge that serious mistakes were not made there. key questions and ensure that those kind of mistakes are never again repeated. >> you mentioned the current immigration laws are outdated. what would be your number one priority to change it? >> i cannot limited to just one thing. when you work in this area, there is time and again, i will go to meetings with businesses and they cannot -- bears a can i get visas for their workers. i go to meetings with communities and hear about families that have been torn apart. if you have to pick in this

whole area one segment would be young people who were brought here usually as small children, brought here by adults, they have been raised here and they met -- and they may not speak the language of their country of origin. they have gone to school in the united states and done well. they have played by the rules. as they reach adulthood, they come into contact with immigration and all of a sudden, they are in line for deportation for removal. these of the so-called dream act kids. if you have to take one element out of the whole universe of immigration that needs to be fixed, should be fixed, and can close to being fixed by the congress last year, it would be that category.

>> what is your vision for dhs with the national security program to remain on schedule with budget reductions that are coming? >> every element of government has an obligation to find ways to do what we need to do more efficiently and more cost effective manner. we have been looking for these ways for three years. we have gone through this. it is cutting down expenses related to procurement. it is doing cert and things withit to cut costs there. it is eliminating subscriptions to unnecessary periodicals not from anyone represented here. [laughter] it is a whole host of things. we're getting a lot of good ideas for our own employees. where can we cut costs?

where are we doing things that don't need to be done. as we do that, we're finding that we can get leaner and meaner. we will keep trying with and so structures -- within the structures we have given the fact that we probably have one of the most complicated set of missions of any department. >> we have some students today hear from georgetown university and one of the vast a question -- as a woman in national politics, do you think your gender has given you a unique perspective -- perspective and what advice would give a woman entering government service? >> run. [laughter] 1 of the things i found -- public service is a great calling.

you can do wonderful things and a public service career and the public service career can take many different forms. but, as someone who has been in elected office, one thing i encourage young women to do and young men, running and holding elected office is a grand privilege. it is serious business but it is something that also has a certain amount of joy to it, the whole process of meeting the people and working with the people you will represent. i would not unfairly to oneself say that you will not consider running in your own right. everybody in this country has the ability to do that. is it -- it is a wonderful experience with its ups and downs but truly rewarding. >> we're almost out of time and

before we as the last question, we have a couple of housekeeping matters to take care of. i want to remind you about our upcoming lunch and speakers. on february 21, a we havedanita -- we have danica patrick. then we have patrick kennedy discussing the mental health parity act and on april 4, we de drepak chopra, -- dr. depak chopra. and i would like to present our guest with the traditional npc mug. >> oh boy, thank you very much. [applause] >> i have one last question. you talk about that all of us should be prepared and i would like to know what you have you're ready bag. >> i have the king of ready bags.

i have my set of clothes, first-aid equipment, extra batteries, extra chargers, a couple of good books, and the phone number and e-mail address of everybody i will have to be in touch with if i have to use that ready bag. all of you all should have a ready bag as well, thank you. [applause] >> i want to thank all of you for coming out today and i would like to thank the national press club's staff including the library and broadcast center for organizing this event and here is a reminder that you can find more information about the national press club on our website. if you like to get a copy of today's program, please check out our website www.press.org and i would like to thank you very much. we are adjourned. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> early results are coming and for today's republican caucuses. ap reports that mitt romney looks headed for a second straight victory. we will hear from mitt romney and newt gingrich both an las vegas with their reactions to tonight's results starting at 10:40 p.m. eastern time. >> this past week, house and senate lawmakers continued

negotiations to extend the payroll tax cut. they will continue their meeting on tuesday. the cuts expire at the end of the month, and all sides agree it should be extended. >> i do not hear a fundamental disagreement in the philosophy that if people get this, that enhances the ability for them to get a job down the road. i do not hear a disagreement with that. i hear an excuse as to why not to do it, but the fundamental philosophy of trying to rearm people with a fundamental education, so that when they go into the workforce, they have an additional tool. >> off to link a social program designed for 70-plus years to provide financial support when you lose your job to a requirement that you have to be in this training, i think, first of all the work for some of the practical considerations. second, i do not think it

contradicts the notion that you are suggesting that the more education you have today, the better off you will be in this economy. >> wants the rest of this meeting on line at the c-span video library. searchqable at c-span.org/video library. f all at least half oa energy will come from non-fossil fuel sources. >> navy secretary ray mavis on the reasons for a new energy standard. >> we are too dependent on potentially or ball to places on earth to get our energy we are susceptible to supply shocks. and even if we have enough, we are susceptible to supply shops. when the libya situation started and the price of oil went up $40 per barrel, that was almost a